Posts Tagged ‘training’

Day 360 and Counting… One Year After “The Phone Call”

Posted: August 28, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, July 31, 2011

One year since “the phone call!”

One year ago today, after completing the mock triathlon with my training group prior to my first triathlon, Ceecee called me and asked me to move back in with her.  Why I had it so firmly in my mind that when I completed the triathlon, somehow we would be reconciled, I don’t know.  I just had an incredible amount of faith for that.  Of course, I thought it would be when I completed the actual triathlon; I never imagined the mock tri having any significance.

Anyway, that was exactly a year ago and two days later, I moved into the loft with my wonderful wife and a week later, the restoration tour began.  Now it’s nearly finished and it seems that it’s only been a few days and that it’s been forever, both at the same time.

Two days from now, one year to the day that I moved back in, we leave on our second honeymoon!  We’re going to Big Cedar Lodge, a world class resort south of Branson.  My wife used to work there and we have quite a history with the place.

Just go to the search bar on this blog and search “Big Cedar” and you’ll find numerous posts related to it.  From the tornado, to the ice storm, to shortly before we split up, Big Cedar Lodge has been a part of our lives.  Now, we will restore that beautiful place in a way that I’m sure neither of us will ever forget!

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Day 340 and Counting… A Dog Bite Cuts Our Ride Short

Posted: August 7, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Thursday, July 14, 2011

Awfully unexpected turn of events during our training ride this morning.  We were intending to try to ride the entire route of 62 miles, a metric century for those of you who are familiar with the term.

Around 20 miles out, we turned down a farm road with a few houses on one side and a Bassett Hound came running out into the street.  There’s always a worry of dogs getting tangled up with your bike and causing a crash, so that was where my focus was, on avoiding hitting the dog.

It had other ideas.  It bit me as I came up alongside it.

I kind of kicked it off and kept riding to put a little distance between us before I stopped to take a look.  It was bleeding, but not badly.  We usually carry some minor first aid items with us, so I cleaned it up and put on some neosporin.  It was pretty sore, so we decided to just head back toward the house.

Later, I went back in the car and tried to find the house it had come from by asking some neighbors.  I wasn’t sure what my plan was, but I definitely wanted to at least confront the owners if I could find them.

A neighbor knew of the dog and said it had been known to bite before.  I kept thinking it was a good thing it was me that it bit and not my wife, because I wouldn’t have handled that well.  As it was, i made a police report, but declined to take any action against the family.

Day 336 and Counting… Invitations Done, Getting Close

Posted: August 6, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Things are definitely coming together.  Today, we got the invitations all done.  We’re doing a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme loosely based on the recent version of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp.

Ceecee created them herself on the computer and they turned out really neat.  There are several outdoor patios and pavilions at the park and we just decided that we will have our ceremony outdoors and the weather will just have to cooperate.

I’ve picked up most of the stuff for my costume at thrift stores and we ordered a Mad Hatter’s hat on Amazon.  Ceecee found a dress at a store downtown.  It’s going to be really silly and that’s the way we want it.

We’re planning two training rides this week and we leave for California in a week and a half.  When we get back, it will only be a few days until we leave for our second honeymoon! Hard to believe everything is this close.

Day 326 and Counting… Training, Pizza, and Plans

Posted: July 29, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Today we took a long ride to Ozark and back.  There are some wicked hills in the country in between, but it’s good for us.  It’s only a little over a month until the Tour De Cox and we still have never ridden 62 miles before.

Once we got back to town, we stopped at Rosati’s, a fairly new pizzeria that is supposed to have authentic Chicago pizza here in Springfield.  We had lunch there, and it was good, but definitely no competition for places like Pizzeria Uno or Gino’s East in Chicago.

Our California trip is all booked and paid for.  We leave nere July 20th and we’ll be there a week!  So looking forward to taking Ceecee to wine country and to see the pacific Ocean.  It’s funny; with her upbringing, she’s been all over Europe, but has never been to California or seen the Pacific.

Day 320 and Counting… Hospital or Thrill

Posted: July 23, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, June 24, 2011

This morning, we decided to ride from our loft out to the Wilson’s Creek Battlefield where we used to train.  It’s in between Springfield and Republic and our phone gps system got us completely lost.  We eventually go there, but we certainly took the long way.

On the way back, we saw some really cool places and got into some pretty good hills out on the country roads.  One in particular, on the way down, was a “hospital or thrill” hill.

I don’t’ like to ride the brake going down steep hills and I know that if a dog or other small animal gets in front of the bike, or anything goes wrong, I’m going to the hospital.  It isn’t wise, but I love it.  It’s part of the thrill of road cycling, and I don’t want it any other way.

I have no idea how long the ride ended up being, but it was a good one to train for the Tour De Cox, which is only about 6 weeks away.

Tonight, I’m taking my wife on an 80’s date.  We’re both 80’s high school graduates and some of the baggage from the past has contributed to some of our problems when we separated, so we’re going to restore the 80’s tonight,

First we’re going to 1984, a video arcade downtown that’s full of nothing but old vintage video games like Pacman, Frogger, Asteroids, etc.  Then we’re going to Branson to watch an 80’s cover band who wears wigs and dresses up in all the crazy stuff bands used to wear back then.

Day 317 and Counting… Planning for our Ceremony

Posted: July 18, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Things are in full swing for the culmination of the restoration tour.  As we count down to 365 days, or one full year of restoration, pieces are starting to fall into place.

I’ve known since August 7th of last year that we would spend a year restoring our marriage, then ride the Tour de Cox and hold a ceremony in which we would renew our vows on August 6 of this year.  To that end, we’ve talked, loved, visited, revisited, and trained, all with the goal of healing the past hurts and building a strong and brighter future.

What hasn’t been so sure is what that ceremony is exactly going to look like.  It’s been more a vague concept than anything actually planned until more recently.  I’ve known that it would happen, but the how, when, where, etc. was kind of left up to chance.

That’s not like me at all.  I’m a planner who wants to know all the details of a thing before I take it on.  In this case, it was all part of the vision God gave me and I’ve just known that it would come together and that it would be beautiful.

Over the weekend, Ceecee and I were at Nathaniel Greene Park.  It’s a large area in south Springfield and the south creek trail, where we often run and cycle, runs right through it.

We went around to the back side of the artificial lake, where we’ve never been, and discovered some small, secluded playgrounds back there.  One has a teeter totter that’s made like a dragonfly.  Another has cement tables and chairs that are painted like bright, exotic mushrooms.  This is where we were sitting when the inspiration hit.

I made the comment that it felt like we were sitting in wonderland.  Ceecee immediately picked up on the idea and said that maybe we could have a Mad Hatter’s tea party theme for our ceremony.  I quickly agreed and we began scoping out the park for more ideas.

We also went to a consignment dress store downtown she could shop for an “Alice” dress to wear.  We found a few ideas and I have some thoughts about dressing up as the Mad Hatter, as well.

Today is the official first day of summer, although we’ve been celebrating the summer of restoration since June 1.  Yesterday we went to the Kansas City Zoo and to a tapas bar with Rachel and her boyfriend Ryan and had a great time.  Ceecee said she “felt whole.”

Tonight, we’re having Kevin, “the marriage guy,” and his wife over for dinner.  I’m going to ask Kevin if he will be part of our ceremony.  I’d like him to speak a few words, especially as related to the advice he gave me and the way he helped support us while we were separated.

Day 307 and Counting… Just Cheering Today

Posted: July 11, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Ceecee ran a 5K called the “Run for Rediness” this morning.  I chose to sit this one out and just support her.  I’ll be doing a sprint triathlon next weekend and I don’t want to take any chances with my knee.

I haven’t pushed too hard and I don’t know for 100% certain that it will hold up for the tri, but I’m going to give it my best.

It’s funny,  I went to a physical therapist, did exercises and tried a bunch of things and the only thing that really seemed to help was a cheap elastic brace that I got at Walgreens.

Day 304 and Counting… Training and Playing

Posted: July 1, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Had a good training day Monday and have mostly been having fun since then.  Rode 15, then ran 3.1 Monday morning to get ready for the Willard triathlon, which will be June 18th.  .

Yesterday, we did a movie marathon at our local dollar theater.  It’s not really a dollar, except on Tuesdays.  They call it “Time-warp Tuesdays,” and sometimes on a hot day, we’ll line up 3 or 4 movies and stay in there most of the day.

Tonight, they’re having a free performance of “The Taming of the Shrew” as part of the annual Shakespeare festival.  It’s outdoors at a park near our loft, so we’ll walk down and see it.  Should be fun..

Day 244 and Counting… Training and Pampering

Posted: May 12, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Took our bikes down the South Creek Trail today and enjoyed the nice weather in the early part of the day.  This is one of the places where we go to train and it’s a pretty ride and a great place to run.  We also brought a picnic in backpacks so we can eat in the park after our ride.

Later today and tonight, some severe weather is supposed to move in and my wife especially still gets quite scared when there is even a chance of tornadoes.  I know this, so I got us some movies and some foot cream and I’m going to set her up in comfort for some pampering tonight to help her relax and keep her mind off the weather.

Day 225 and Counting… Back To Work

Posted: April 23, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

 

We’re back at work this week and back to work on our fitness goals.  It’s less than 5 months to the Tour de Cox and our vow renewal.

We’ve been enjoying life a lot and not working out nearly as much as we should be.  It’s time to get back on our bikes in earnest.

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